You rarely see a fat Chinese person. I think this is because they do not eat a lot of processed food – their diet consists of mainly meat, vegetables, rice and noodles. They are not big dairy eaters and dessert at most restaurants is usually fruit. They also eat most of the animal or fish, parts that most westerners would not.
You don’t often see a balding Chinese man. I wonder what it is about their genes that allow them to keep a full head of hair into old age. If you could bottle that, it would make millions! The beautiful straight dark hair seems to stay that way into old age too – I have not seen many grey haired ladies (perhaps they all dye it!)
The airline rules don’t appear to apply to Chinese. It doesn’t matter if we are taxi-ing or just landed – they will get up, use the toilet, open the over-head bins. The seatbelt sign is obviously just for amusement.
Queueing is an alien concept. You just barge as quickly as possible to the front. So, you don’t have to let people off an elevator first, before getting in – regardless of how many people are trying to get out.
Personal space is much more limited than most Westerners would like. I think that because there are so many people here, you just get used to sharing less space. It has taken me a while to get used to people walking so close to me (and each other) and just general crowding. The only time I really object is when you hear the horrible noise of a Chinese person clearing their throat getting ready to spit. I know that different beliefs and customs in a culture should be tolerated – but I really cannot stand that.
I have been travelling so much in 2013 and now I am trying to catch up on posts. We have also had some issues with our internet access (it is the season of changing Party officials, after all!!)
The lead up to Christmas was full of festivity and there were lots of events that Owen and I were invited to. Jane and JC hosted a Stars and Stockings Party which was huge fun.
Stockings and Stars! Most of the girls showing off their stockings. I just wore Star earrings!!
Some of the Boys
Thanks to plenty of champagne and some great music (Jane and JC’s 14 year old son was DJ!) there was plenty of dancing. And dancing in 80’s style!
And, remember this one?
It was a fantastic evening. Not only was Jane and JC’s son the DJ, but he also tended bar for us all – mixing perfect cocktails dressed in a tux! I am sure we all gave him some good stories for his friends!!
The party that kicked off the Christmas season celebrations!
More Christmas parties the following weekend: friends from work on Saturday night and then Sunday was open house at Jane and Kevin’s house. She had over 12 children all doing arts and crafts – decorating cookies, making Christmas tree ornaments and colouring. It was loud and noisy with so many kids having so much fun. It was a lovely relaxing Sunday afternoon catching up with friends, discussing Christmas plans, sipping mulled wine, eating mince pies and other traditional goodies.
What a wonderful Christmas in Shanghai. We are so fortunate to have a large “family” of Ex-pats here who host so many wonderful events and look out for each other. The season started with a “Stars and Stockings” party at Jane’s house. A fabulous night of laughter, 80’s dancing, great food and booze.
The next day, Isabelle and Oliver were at the Shanghai Expat Association’s Christmas Party at the 4 Seasons in Downtown Shanghai. Even Santa came to visit them there! Kids from all nationalities from all over Shanghai were enjoying the festivities – so many crafts that the kids did not get through them all. They came home laden with home made Christmas tree ornaments, gingerbread houses and presents from Santa.
Santa and Isabelle
Santa and Oliver
On Christmas Eve, we were all at Marie and Tim’s house – with the same lovely group of people that we would be enjoying the rest of Christmas with. This was a lovely relaxed affair and we were home by 7:30 pm ready to continue exciting the kids about an imminent visit!
Christmas Eve with Oliver
Our Christmas Tree – ready with presents.
Christmas morning the children woke up at 6:30am. We could hear squeals of excitement and giggles as they opened their stockings together. They managed to contain themselves until 7:30 and then came in to “wake” us up. We had a wonderful relaxing morning opening presents, playing with toys and enjoying a leisurely breakfast.
What could these possibly be??
Just what we wanted!!
At 12.45 we walked around the corner to Lin and Nick’s house as they were hosting Christmas Dinner. Nick works for Intercontinental Hotel group and they were catering it, so no-one had the burden of preparing the meal. The staff had completely taken over the kitchen (using the garage as a staging area) and had even set up a bar!
Half of us at the table (bar is in the background).
We were 5 families in 1 house – 22 of us, including all the kids. We had a fabulous meal – 5 hours at the table, laughing all the time. The kids managed about 45 minutes of eating before they were all off playing together. Again, it was so relaxing – no cooking or clearing up to worry about. When you are so far from home with no family around, this could not have been a better celebration.
Daniel, Cai, Harry, Oliver and Luke.
Lia, Isabelle, Amelie, Maddie and Seren
A choice of desserts. The mini Christmas puddings were delightful!
What a wonderful group of friends to celebrate Christmas Day with.
After a brief 90 minute re-charge back at home, we were off to more friends – Suzanne and Brian’s, for the evening. Another fantastic get together.
Boxing Day, and it was our turn to host. The morning was a flurry of activity; cooking sausage rolls, legs of lamb and preparing for 30 people at our house at 3:00pm. Our wonderful Ayi, Angela, was a huge help and stayed through the afternoon to help with the kids. We had set up a craft activity area for them downstairs and some other friends had brought their Wii system for the older children to play upstairs. While they were occupied we played our traditional Boxing Day “Dirty Santa” game. Absolutely hilarious to see the tacky, gaudy gifts that people had found for less than 50RMB (£5/$7)!! It was the perfect wind-down from a very hectic Christmas and we were cleared up before 10:00pm.
Jane opening Michael Fish fridge magnets in our annual “Dirty Santa” game!
All in all, for a very different Christmas, it was perfect.
Owen’s fabulous Christmas Cake. Beautifully fed over the last 2 years and then beautifully decorated. Better than any “professional” cake!! It was YUMMY!
Last week, Owen was in the UK for the week. I took Thursday and Friday off so that I could focus on the kids (plus all the Christmas activities that were taking place or needed to be done). I am so fortunate that the Ex-pat community is so supportive of one another. My friends here all know that I work (sometimes long hours) and I had many emails offering to look after the kids, feed us or cover school bus drop off and pick up. It is such a relief to know that I am not alone when Owen has to travel back to the UK for his pain relief medication. In fact, I was over whelmed with the emails that came pouring in. I am not alone here. Neither is Owen. This is truly a community that cares about one another.
So, the Shanghai-high part of the week was the support that I received. The Shang-low part of the week was the juggling act…..
I feel guilty calling upon my friends to help. I know that they really want to help and that they do not think anything of it. But, I still cannot help feeling guilty. In my head, I am trying to work out when I can repay. And, I know that they don’t want repaying! It is part of the Ex-pat life to support one another and I am trying really hard to be a part of that. It is so difficult to release some of the independence and “I can do it” mentality. Work is especially difficult at the moment as we approach year end with lots of changes for 2013. I am feeling under pressure all round. It is a constant juggling act between home and work – the experts are right – you really cannot have it all 😦
The children are certainly getting into the Christmas spirit at school. Friday December 7th was a busy day at BISS. In the morning Oliver had his Christmas concert and then we were back again in the evening for the school Christmas Carol Concert.
The concert consisted of 5 nursery classes and 3 Reception classes, all dressed in a different Christmas theme and singing their little hearts out! I think they might have all been over-whelmed as they were on the stage in the Theatre with all the lights on them, and the Theatre was packed full of parents! (Owen was in the UK and unfortunately missed his performance – thank goodness for video cameras!)
Different themes for different classes.
The Concert lasted about 30 minutes with lots of different songs about the Holiday season. All the children were so good – singing loudly, sitting in the correct places and generally not much crying! There were a few who got upset when they saw Mum or Dad!
Oliver’s class were Christmas presents and he was wearing a lovely top underneath. His costume was a surprise!
Oliver had also had a trip to the post office last week to send the Christmas card he had made:
Oliver’s Christmas card. It arrived in our mail box after a Class trip to the Post Office!
The inside of Oliver’s Christmas Card.
We had Emma, Ava and Ethan over for dinner in the evening and then all of us climbed into our van to go back to school for the Carol Concert. It was a lovely performance with all years involved. We had a couple of dance performances – ballet, jazz and tap. The band played a few songs – there is a very talented saxophone player who improvised one song! And, of course, the different school choirs – from the very youngest (Rainbow Choir) up to Secondary/Senior school. At the end, it was a sing-along for everybody with favourites like Silent Night and We Wish You a Merry Christmas!
There was even an interval so we could enjoy mince pies and mulled wine!
Ethan, Ava, Isabelle and Oliver at the BISS Christmas Concert.
Sunday night I travelled to Shenzhen in the south of China for a business meeting. Shenzhen is only a 30 minute drive from the border to Hong Kong. It is another huge city – 20+ million people, but a fairly new city. in 1979 it was still a small village! It has greatly benefited from massive foreign investment and is designated as a Special Economic Zone – one of the most successful in China and is one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
The customer I was meeting is a large Chinese multi-national company. The morning went very well and then we broke for lunch. It was off to the canteen at lunch for a delicious buffet lunch. After which, our team returned back to the meeting room but I was amazed that all the lights were off. And, you could hear a pin drop! It is nap time at the office. I had never seen anything like this. The staff pull out thin mattress pads, pillows and blankets from under their desks or storage lockers. Some people even have a low cot/lounger bed. They then go to sleep, usually with their heads under their desks. I could even hear snoring!
People were OUT COLD. I so wanted to take a photo but refrained as I did not want to be disrespectful to our customer. I tiptoed past the cubicles trying to ensure that I did not disturb this patchwork quilt of sleeping. At 2:00pm, the lights again come up to full power and it is back to work!
At this same multi-national global company, I was amazed to find that the ladies toilets were all squat toilets. Oh my goodness, I would actually have to use one of these. I have successfully avoided them to date, often in discomfort, but still unwilling to try. Well, there is no choice this time – I have been drinking bottles of water like it is going out of fashion and I REALLY have to go. Mission accomplished, is all I am going to say on that subject!
Thursday November 22nd 2012 is Thanksgiving (the 4th Thursday in November) – a traditional American holiday but one that we have celebrated since 1995 when we first moved from the UK to America. The first few years, Owen and I were always invited to the homes of our friends in Atlanta. Then we started hosting at our house – opening our home to people who could not make it home to be with their families, or those who just wanted to be somewhere different. It is one of our favourite holidays because it is all about sharing quality time with people who are special to you, good food (Turkey with all the trimmings, apple pie, pumpkin pie) and giving thanks. I am thankful for a wonderful family, brilliant friends, my health and a job that I love and that has offered such a fabulous opportunity to live and work in China.
This year, the kids were in school and it was a work day for me! But, we had decided to invite some friends from the Emerald to share our Thanksgiving meal in the evening. Owen had found a western shop that would deliver a Turkey to – deep fried ready to eat – at a cost of £100/$150!!!! We made green bean casserole, traditional stuffing, roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots, mange tout and sweet corn. I made pumpkin roll (very yummy) and we also had the store deliver apple pie and a chocolate mousse cake.
A delicious meal shared with friends – all that Thanksgiving is about! Lots of laughter and a new experience for our British friends. It is good for Isabelle and Oliver to be reminded of American traditions, as they are both citizens of the USA having been born there.
Our Thanksgiving gathering. 11 people suitably stuffed!
Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province in southwest China and is home to 14 million people. It is a 3 hour flight from Shanghai and this is where we set off to on Saturday morning. Chengdu is also known as the Country of Heaven! It has a deep history which can be traced back over 2300 years.
We arrived at lunchtime and went straight to our hotel – the Sheraton Chengdu Lido in the heart of downtown. We dumped our bags in our room and then solicited the help of the Concierge to organize a couple of things for us. Within minutes, Jack (a super helpful, very nice man) had arranged a car and driver for us; provided us with a map of the City, highlighted areas that we should visit and gave us his cell phone number in case we got into any difficulties!
We ate lunch (buffet style) in the hotel and by the time we had finished, our driver and car were waiting to whisk us away for an afternoon of site seeing. We started at the Wuhou Memorial Temple. Our driver took a photo of us outside the doors and told us where he would be waiting for us when we ready for the next stop.
First Stop – Wuhou Memorial Temple. This memorial celebrates the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. During that period, Sichuan belonged to the Kingdom of Shu, which was at almost constant battle with two other kingdoms for more than 100 years. Wuhou Memorial is dedicated to the heroes of those battles. Zhuge Liang, the military advisor of the King of Shu, even 1800 years after his death, is still regarded as one of the most gifted and brilliant strategists China ever had.
This temple has some larger than life statues, mainly dating back to the 17th century but some from the 14th century. There is also the most magnificent bonsai tree garden hidden away in the middle – a lovely surprise!
Ming Tablet
History of The Three Kingdoms and individuals.
A very large bell!
One of the many statues on display
Beautifully carved wood – unusual doorways all over.
Me and Isabelle. We were trying to get photos of the ladies dressed in old tradition costumes behind us. They wanted to charge for photos! (Perhaps we should try that tactic when people want to take photos of our kids!)
Sara – year of the Monkey
Owen and Isabelle – year of the Rooster
Oliver – year of the Pig/Boar
Very cool architecture outside too! This passage led into the Bonsai tree garden that was not sign posted and so a delightful surprise to stumble upon.
A typical Chinese gazebo
Pointing at the Bonsai Trees. This was a lovely garden with many varieties.
What you don’t see is that there at least 8 people behind me also taking photos of our children!
Enjoying the sunshine in the Bonsai garden with my 2 lovely children
Owen with Oliver and Isabelle sitting by the Koi Carp pond. Once you leave the Bonsai garden, you are in more gardens with a lovely pond filled with lots of fish.
Burning incense sticks
There are stone carvings of the key individuals during The Three Kingdoms period. Again, many people behind us taking photos of the children!
Another stone carving
After a leisurely couple of hours walking around the lovely grounds of the Wuhou Memorial Temple, we walked into Jinli Street. This is a big tourist area filled with many shops, cafes, street food vendors and souvenirs. We passed a stall with a man painting on the inside of glass bottles. The pictures were so detailed and beautifully done. Both Isabelle and Oliver came away with mini bottles with their names painted. We watched while he did it and was amazed at the skill to be able to do this!
Painting Oliver’s name inside a tiny glass bottle
Leaving the Temple to walk into Jinli Street
Ear candling or ear cleaning. Not for the faint hearted!! Although, they do train for over 2 years to do this. People were lining up to have their ears cleaned……
I bought a lovely pair of silver earrings in this shop. The lady was dressed in an old Chinese Princess Warrior costume and agreed to pose with the children! Her head gear looks really heavy!
A lovely couple of hours spent shopping and site-seeing here. We headed back to the hotel after this as James (the fantastic concierge) had managed to get us front section tickets for the Chinese Opera. As we needed to be at the Theatre for 7:30pm we decided to eat at hotel again. Another buffet for the kids, who have completely won over the staff. We, rather they, get so much attention – the Chinese want to know their names and ages. They were escorted around the food stations and assisted both of them with filling their plates! Owen and I sat back and watched!!!
Chinese Opera Theatre
We were so excited to be going to the Chinese Opera as we had heard great things about this. There were 7 different acts in the 90 minute show, with the finale being the “Face Changing” display.
First on was a dance depicting a love story where 3 heros fight against lvbu. Then the story continued with Lv Bu and Diao Chan. There was a stick puppet show, some acrobatics, a hand shadow show, Sichuan Opera song (not our favorite!) a man playing the Erhu and then the finale which was the face changing.
Chinese Opera – dance display
Beautiful dancers
The face changing was the most intriguing display as you could not see how it was done at all. It is a closely guarded secret and it is not known how they do it. The performers even came into the audience – 1 was 3 feet away from us and did 3 face changes. It was impossible to see how they did it – the effect is stunning. They also threw some masks into the audience. A gentleman behind us caught one and then gave it to Isabelle, who was thrilled! Oliver, meanwhile, was fast asleep. We could not keep him awake and he fell asleep half way through the performance. It had been such a busy day!
On Sunday morning, we got up early to go to the Panda Research Base. I have written a separate post on this trip. It was amazing!
When we got back we went to the Wenshu Monastery. This buddhist monastery is one of the oldest and best preserved temples in Chengdu. Worshippers light candles and incense, constantly filling the temple with a thick, perfumed smoke.
The monastery, formerly known as Xinxiang Temple, is situated north of the central square on Renmin Zhong Lu. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, a monk named Cidu arrived, built a small hut to live in and carried out a practice of complete self-denial. Legend holds that when Cidu was cremated, a statue of Wensu (Bodhisattva Manjusri in Sanskrit) appeared in the flames and stared at the onlookers. After this people began regarding Cidu as the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva Manjusri. Thereafter the Xinxiang Temple was rechristened as Wenshu Temple.
Outside the Wenshu Monastery
Beautiful detail on the roof
One of the many containers for burning incense. The perfume smoke filled the monastery.
One of the many Buddha’s. There are over 300 Buddha’s on display. I took this photo before noticing that photography was not allowed. It is still an active Monastery and we saw many monks walking around.
Cultural relics are the highlights of Wenshu Monastery. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, over 500 pieces of painting and calligraphy by celebrities have been stored here. In the Sutra-Preservation Pavilion, many famous handwriting exhibits, paintings, and artwork are restored. These precious works of art were created by renowned Chinese painters and calligraphers, including Zhang Daqian, Zheng Banqiao, and Feng Zikai. Of all the precious relics, a piece of the broken skull of Xuan Zhang, a renowned monk of the Tang Dynasty, is the rarest. Another treasure is a delicate jade Buddha statue brought from Burma to China in 1922 by Xing Lin, a Buddhist monk who walked the whole distance. In addition, the monastery houses some 300 Buddha statues of various materials including iron, bronze, stone, wood, and jade, some gloriously painted.
Recreating a Buddha face!
The Chinese dragons are spectacular
Carved from a single tree trunk
We saw many people praying and bringing offerings to the different Buddha’s.
One of the garden areas in the Monastery
If you look closely, you can see the chains that are tying the animals down!
Very peaceful here…..
The detail of the architecture is amazing. I love the curved roofs that you see in the older Chinese buildings.
Some statues outside the walls of the Monastery
Another stop on our site-seeing tour today, was to the Ancient Town. This is a walled area that has many alleys and narrow roads filled with shops, food, and souvenirs. We had just walked in when we saw this couple have wedding photos taken. Red is an extremely lucky colour in China, so brides are always married wearing a red dress!
A Chinese wedding
Starbucks is everywhere! We stopped here for coffee, hot chocolate and cake!
And we also stopped for ice cream!
Fabulous photos that come to life……
Owen: “your move”
Sugar on a stick. There is a wheel that you spin and when the pointer lands on an image, the man will make the caramel (sugar thing) in front of your eyes in seconds. Of course, the kids loved this…….
The Rong Club – just liked the sign!!
Rabbits head – a delicacy. (Top right) We did not try these.
Back in our hotel room and the kids with their Face Changing Masks.
Our Sunday night dinner was a recommendation from Jack (lovely concierge!) We walked a couple of blocks to a Sichuan restaurant. The cuisine in this area of China is spicy and Owen and I wanted to try some authentic food from here. Nobody spoke English in the restaurant, so between our iPhone apps and the pictures on the menu, we ordered several dishes to share. I made sure that we ordered plenty of Mifan (rice – one of the few words I know!!) so that Isabelle and Oliver would have something that was not spicy. As it turned out, a couple of the dishes were not too bad and they tried almost everything. It was very funny watching them with the chopsticks – they have been practicing at home, but they are difficult to use in little hands! It was a delicious meal. A table full of food, beer for Owen and I, and we had change out of £30.
Spicy Sichuan dinner!
Another early start on Monday morning as we were back to the Panda Research Facility to cuddle with a Panda Bear. After we had experienced this fantastic interaction, we walked around the sanctuary again. We spotted this Peacock on a roof.
Peacock on the roof at the Panda Research Base
Big fish pond and loads of fish!
These fish thought they would be getting fed!
Brother/sister hugs! Notice the panda bears in the trees behind them.
My lovely children
Hugs for Daddy too.
Beautiful flowers
After the Panda Experience, we went to another restaurant recommendation for Hot Pot – another speciality of the Sichuan region. The Pots on the table had a spicy chilli oil side and a chicken broth side. This was ideal for us as Owen and I cooked all our food in the spicy side, while Isabelle and Oliver could enjoy the same meat and vegetables without the zing! This was another delicious meal.
Sichuan Hot Pot for Lunch
Finished lunch, off to the airport and home we went! A fantastic weekend with so many memories to last a lifetime. I will never forget the Panda that we cuddled with. The whole weekend was non-stop enjoyment.
Stone sculptures in the street outside the restaurant.
Having spent the weekend being followed, photographed and touched, I now have some sympathy for those who live life in the tabloid magazines. The celebrities who court fame, fortune and continual hounding are at least compensated with free designer gowns, fancy jewels and endorsements. In return they must put up with the constant presence of paparazzi taking their picture. All we are doing is living in China!! Our children are a magnet wherever we go.
It is not so bad in Shanghai as it is the most westernized of China cities. However, a 3 hour flight in land, to Chengdu, and it is much more noticeable. Even though Chengdu is a popular destination for tourists (to visit the Panda Bears), it seems that Western children are still a novelty.
I especially noticed it this weekend as we were out and about so much. I do not mind quite as much when people keep their distance, but it becomes intrusive when they get too close and then want to touch them both. I lost count of the number of photographs that were taken of our 2 lovely children. Many people asked to have their photo taken with them too. Isabelle and Oliver now ignore the attention as they are getting used to the stares, pointing and smiles, and will generally ignore it all. At least our 2 children bring smiles to everyone around us!
osiochina 